The European Commission is mandating that Google allow phone and tablet makers to license the Google mobile application suite — Google Drive, Play Music, etc. — without also having to install Chrome or Search. Regulators consider this all-or-nothing bundling unfair to third-parties that want to offer competing services.

Google is complying by allowing manufacturers to pay and license an applications bundle without the search engine and web browser.

However, the exclusion of the Google app is detrimental to the company’s tentpole push of Assistant. Services like Assistant and Google Lens are mostly updated via the Google app.

In response, the company is taking steps to seemingly have Assistant functionality run without the Google app. Voice Action Services (spotted by Android Police) was uploaded to the Play Store last week. The listing description notes how it “provides core functionality to support voice based actions.”

Google’s Voice Action Services provides core functionality to support voice based actions. These components allow you to more quickly perform actions to interact with your device or currently installed applications.

Google Assistant is not directly named in the listing, but the included screenshots show it working, while the app description notes a set of similar features.

Meanwhile, explicitly stated in the listing is how “Voice Action Services works without requiring Google Search or Google Chrome app.” The two apps that starting next week Google can no longer guarantee be installed on devices.

U.S. Play Store

French Play Store

Another indication of this app’s audience is how it’s downloadable in Europe, but not the United States. Upon installing, Voice Action Services appears as an application that can be set as the default Assist app. In usage, we found that launching it just opens the Google app and Assistant.

A teardown of the app reveals that the app contains many strings that are otherwise encountered during Google Assistant’s setup process. However, “Assistant” is swapped out by “Voice Action Services” in user-facing strings.

Hi, how can I help?

With Google’s Voice Action Services, you can easily perform quick actions, control your Android device and open currently installed apps using only your voice.

Voice Action Services can work with Google partners to help you get things done.